Tilted controller on Kickstarter can bring head movements into video games

Tilted

• Tilted is a $47 wearable device currently on
  Kickstarter that can detect your head movements with a
  gyroscope and translates them into in-game
  actions. 
• It can detect up to eight different types of head
  movements.
• The primary goal of Tilted is to make your gaming
  inputs simpler — especially when using a keyboard, which can
  get complicated.
• There’s also the added benefit of assisting gamers with
  disabilities, who might not be able to use the full
  functionality of a keyboard or controller.

We’ve all been there — in the heat of the moment, you don’t have
time to look down at your keyboard. You try to quickly lean
around a corner in “Rainbow Six: Siege” or “PUBG” and catch
another player by surprise, but you fumble your fingers and end
up throwing a grenade or reloading, usually resulting in your
in-game death. 

It’s an unfortunate side effect of keyboards that they can
sometimes be awkward — especially in games with a plethora of
controls and keybinds, like the “Arma” series. While there’s more
flexibility in terms of the sheer amount of possible input
combos, you could argue that keyboards were never really intended
for gaming. 

Tilted, a gaming-wearable startup, wants to alleviate that
awkwardness. The group is currently
funding its head-mounted device on Kickstarter, which uses a
gyroscope to detect head movements and then translates them to
in-game inputs. The device starts at $47, and the shipping date
is to-be-announced (it’s a Kickstarter campaign, so the usual
crowdfunding warning applies). As of press time, Tilted has
raised $27,835, with an initial goal of $15,000. The
campaign ends on November 1. 

Tilted

Tilted’s founder, Akila Zhang, first got the idea for the device
when playing around with a Wii remote, which uses a gyroscope. He
realized this could be harnessed in the form of a wearable
device, and actually conducted his first few tests with a Wii
remote strapped on top of his head, which in turn transmitted his
head movements to software on his computer.. 

Zhang took that general concept and shrunk it into a much more
comfortable size. Tilted is a small, lightweight device that
attaches to a headset via a separate adhesive magnet. Once
attached and turned on, the device communicates with Tilted’s
software to translate up to eight different head movements into
in-game inputs. Users can customize which movements trigger which
keyboard inputs, which means Tilted will work with almost any
keyboard-compatible game. 

Tilted

Tilted communicates with your computer via a USB dongle, and it
can be paused at any time by removing it from the adhesive magnet
on your headset. The company claims it’s capable of more than 20
hours of battery life, depending on the amount of use. 

However, since Tilted depends on being attached to your head,
you’re going to need to attach it
to something if you don’t normally use a
headset. Tilted recommended a hat, beanie, or headband as a
replacement. The software doesn’t currently support different
keybind profiles for different games, but the team plans to add
that feature in the future. Additionally, the device is only
compatible with computers until consoles add keyboard
support. 

Overall, the device is meant to enhance keyboard-based gaming
instead of replacing it entirely. Certain games require inputs
that can tangle your fingers up or that become uncomfortable,
which is what Tilted intends to fix. Additionally, there’s the
potential to assists gamers with physical disabilities who can’t
use a keyboard or controller, but can still move their
head. 

Tilted can be pre-ordered on Kickstarter starting at $47, and is
available
here.